“No one has to know we slept together,” Lucy said as she watched Skye. The panic was swelling up inside her. “You can just say that you found yourself completely enamored withone of the contestants and you don’t think it’s fair to the other contestants to continue on with the show.”
“It’s not that easy, Lu.”
“It is.” Lucy didn’t get what the problem was. Why did Skye have to ride it out if she’d clearly already made her decision? Lucy was her decision. It was simple. It couldn’t be any simpler. The other contestants would understand. “That’s the point of the show. To fall for someone.”
“Ironically, one would think that would be the exact point of the show. It’s exactly what the audience is led to believe. But as you know, it’s all so ridiculously scripted. I should’ve known better,” Skye huffed and dropped her gaze to her sneakers. Her voice was quieter when she added, “There’s something else I need to tell you.”
“What the hell is going on here?”
Lucy jumped as if she’d been electrocuted. She threw her head in the direction of the voice only to see Marla barreling down the path toward them. Her brows were furrowed, and her hands were balled into fists at her sides. Her legs were moving impossibly quickly for someone so short.
Lucy opened her mouth, ready to stammer out an excuse, but the only thing that came out was a tight, strangled noise. And Skye didn’t seem to be any better at giving an appropriate response. She simply stood there with her eyes wide, her lips parted, and her usual fire so completely drained from her face that for a moment she looked almost unreal. It looked like she would vanish if Lucy touched her.
“I’m going to need an explanation,” Marla said, sounding pissed. “And I’m going to need it now.”
Skye’s hands flailed slightly. “It’s not what it looks like.”
“Then what does it look like?” Marla spat, her gaze snapping between Skye and Lucy like a whip. Lucy had never been more aware of how loudly her heart waspounding.“Because it looks to me like the two of you are sneaking around behind everyone’s backs.”
“Okay, fine,” Skye relented, blowing out a breath. “It’s exactly what it looks like. Lucy and I… we slept together. A few times.”
Marla blinked, looking confused at first, but then slowly the words set in. She bit at her bottom lip and shook her head. Before Lucy could figure out how she would respond, Marla slammed the butt of her palm against her forehead. “Shit! Fuck! Shit Fuck!”
“I know,” Skye muttered. Her shoulders were tense, and her face was grim. It felt as if someone had died, which, frankly, in Lucy’s opinion, was an exaggeration. It really wasn’t that big of a deal.Was it?
Not that Marla agreed. She ran a hand down her face. “This is bad, Red. This is really bad. Do you have any idea how catastrophic this is? Do you have any idea how bad this is forus? You’re the bachelorette, for fuck’s sake. You are the fucking face of the show.”
Skye’s jaw tightened. “I know. I didn’t plan for it. I didn’t—”
“Not planned,” Marla stammered. “Notplanned? Skye, this isn’t just some casual date. There are ratings we need to worry about. Credibility. The integrity of the entire show is on the line. You know this. You know how the network is going to react if this gets out. Stan is going to freak the fuck out. You might even get fired after this. Do you get how serious it is?”
Skye hung her head low.
Fired?Since when would the bachelorette get fired?
“Wait,” Lucy said, terribly confused. “What the hell is going on?”
Marla turned in her direction. “Lucy, darling. I need you to listen very carefully because apparently, you don’t getthe gravity of this. Everything hinges on the bachelorette being untouchable, impartial, and professional. She’s supposed to be fair to the contestants. She’snotsupposed to sleep with one of you and lie about it.” Marla flicked her gaze back to Skye and scowled. “That’s something an assistant director should know.”
For a moment, Marla’s words floated right past Lucy as if she were hearing them underwater. But then the pieces started snapping together. The words started clicking into place, and suddenly her brain felt like it caught fire.
“The assistant director,” Lucy uttered.“What does that even mean?”
Skye swallowed hard. “I’m the assistant director,” she admitted. “I’ve worked onThe Sapphic Matchfor five years. The real bachelorette couldn’t make it, so I stepped in.”
Lucy’s jaw dropped. “What?”
“I know,” Skye said quickly, turning to face Lucy properly. “I should’ve told you before, but I didn’t think it was relevant. It doesn’t actually matter—”
“Itdoesn’tmatter,” Lucy interrupted. The words were out before she could stop them. She didn’t even understand why she had said them. Skye was right; it didn’t actually matter. The problem wasn’t what she did for a living but rather that she’d omitted something like that. “You should’ve told me.”
Marla let out a long, exasperated sigh and threw her hands up in the air. “I really don’t have time for this,” she said, glancing at the silver watch strapped to her wrist. “We’ve got that sunset date coming up, and I still have to coordinate the boat and the catering.” She pointed a finger in Skye’s direction. “Just sort this out, Skye. I don’t care how you do it, or who you pick at the final ceremony, but we need to finish the show.”
Marla was already on the path when Skye stepped away from Lucy, who was still in a state of calm shock, and called out, “Marla, how did you know we were here?”
Marla glanced back over her shoulder. “Alexis,” she said. “I bumped into her at the villa. She said that she saw you and Lucy sneak out.”
Of course, it was Alexis. That snake. She should’ve known.
